Wesley Hoedt has told Dutch newspaper Detelegraaf that he intends to leave AZ in the near future:

"What is certain is that I have not signed [for Lazio]. The intention is to leave this winter. If I do not go to Lazio, there are other Dutch clubs. Who? The names are already out."

The teams in the Netherlands believed to be interested in Hoedt are Twente, Feyenoord and Ajax.

There are signs which may suggest that Lazio and Hoedt are trying to put pressure on AZ Alkmaar.

Hoedt can sign for any Dutch club at any point for free, but he cannot make the move until his contract expires at the end of June. If Lazio sign Hoedt, they must compensate AZ for the training he has received over the years, which would be a figure in the region of 500,000 euro.

Therefore, AZ are keen to do business with Lazio, but are playing hardball in search of a higher transfer fee for doing the deal midway through the current season.

Hoedt is putting pressure on the club to sell to Lazio by suggesting he could sign for a Dutch club. Similarly, Lazio's Director of Sport Igli Tare has suggested that the player will move to Lazio in the summer if AZ refuse to sell now, and this would cause AZ to miss out on the higher transfer fee.

The rumour in the Netherlands that Niklas Moisander is also of interest to Lazio further increases the pressure on AZ. If Lazio were to agree a deal for Moisander to move when his contract expires in the summer, Ajax could choose to replace him with Hoedt, and this would cause AZ to lose their talented centre-back without compensation.

Latest rumours suggest Lazio have offered 900,000 euro for the 20 year-old defender while AZ have halved their asking price from 3 million down to 1.5 million. Lalaziosiamonoi have suggested that the two clubs could agree to meet halfway and wrap up this deal in a matter of days.